BLOOD LAKE (1987)

BLOOD LAKE (1987)

Tagline: A quick dip in the lake turns into a blood bath of horror.

(Horror, Slasher, Water Skiing Lessons) [R]

Note: This film never got an MPA rating, but it likely would have been rated [R].

In this one, we are taken to Cedar Lake, Oklahoma where Mike, Becky, Susan, Tony, Bryan, and Kim are visiting a house by the lake. They all kind of suck except for Susan, so one of them starts teasing a man just sitting by the lake that won’t talk. It does not take long before they start dropping like flies. Will anyone on these teens survive “blood lake”?

If you want to see someone make a $25.00 movie with a camcorder. If you want to see acting scarier than the movie. If you want to see proof that hardly anyone got offended by anything in the 80s and if they did they just had a book of sarcastic put-downs to destroy you with every single time. If you want to see the least realistic-looking blood ever. If you don’t mind seeing the worst dialog ever written, and a bunch of people just talking crazy talk during a drinking game. If you can handle some of the worst editing mankind has seen since DISCONNECTED. If you are ready to watch Susan shut down pervert Tony at every turn, then you are ready for BLOOD LAKE. 

I am not going to kid you guys and gals. We have a scene in this movie that takes up about 4 minutes that is literally just people talking over each other while playing a drinking game. It’s very strange that you would need that in a movie that is only 82 minutes long that isn’t directed by the Polonia Brothers, but here we are. 

So back in the early 90’s I actually got a camcorder for family events and by the time I ever actually got around to using it, I discovered it took those VHS-looking mini tapes so we only ended up using it once or twice. I remember one of those times was for a talent show when I was in a band for about 5 minutes. Other people apparently got them before we did and ran out and made all kinds of films, including 80’s horror. 

Strangely in spite of all of its flaws, this movie actually did some things right. They either had a band volunteer their music or they hired one. That band was Steven Lee Robertson’s “Voyager”. The band ended up doing 4 songs for the movie and to be honest, it’s fairly decent 80’s rock that doesn’t suck. They also cut a pretty solid score for this thing. There is a LOT that ruins the experience, but at the very least they cared enough to do that. Looking at the cast, we have Doug Barry who plays Mike. This dude cannot act, but in case it’s not clear almost no one in this movie can. Doug did show up in one more movie called STREET CREATURES in 2004. Angela Darter plays Becky and she probably does the best when it comes to acting, but that isn’t saying much. This was her only movie. I was not a fan of Mike Kaufman who plays Bryan or his character. Andrea Adams plays Kim in this and isn’t absolutely terrible. Of the entire cast, she had the most credits and had already been in 2 horror flicks by the time this came out called THE RIPPER and REVENGE. Travis Krasser plays 14-year-old Tony in this and seemed like he was pretty much just on the set somewhere so they cast him. He never did another movie. The same can be said for Christie Willoughby who played Susan. This was director Tim Boggs's only film in the director’s chair. He would go on to a very successful career doing sound for all kinds of movies and TV shows including “Breaking Bad’. 

This flick never crawls out of the basement of 80s horror flicks. There are a lot of things that could have been done better even on this microscopic budget, but it is not the worst 1980s horror flick I’ve seen. If you like Wild Eye Releasing this in on the poor level of those films only with a cooler soundtrack. 

BLOOD LAKE gets a 2 out of 7, but mainly just because they gave this thing a rad soundtrack complete with a BLOOD LAKE theme song, and the plot isn’t all over the place.

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